END OF ARC 2: PART ONE OF THREE

[asgardmods]

Who: ANYONE going on the infiltration into Thrymheim!
What: Lots of travelling and also rescuing Freyr's soul.
When: Days 278 - 279 ( June 10 - 13 )
Where: Asgard, Thrymheim, and the road inbetween.
Rating: PG-13. Anything that might go higher than that should be taken to a private log, please!

[ Before even the first crack of sunlight over the horizon on Day 278, every bracelet in the city will give a quiet blip! as they activate with a short mass text from the gods:

The time to act has come. Gather at the Gate of Frost by the Sun's first rays if you will, and be prepared to strike at the heart of ice. There is no room for failure.

Exactly as the message implies: it's time to ship off to Thrymheim. Gear up in your best winter clothes and bring whatever weaponry you need; there are wagons thinly concealed and waiting for you at the southern gate that leads to the home of the Frost Giants. Inside the wagons will be those portable heaters that you guys bought in Utgard, along with spare gloves, jackets and scarves for anyone that foolishly believed summer might touch the kingdom of ice. Travellers can also find food rations to last a week alongside a generous amount of medical supplies that may or may not be a bit foreboding.

The caravan will leave at precisely 5AM, driven by the barest amount of Natives to keep travel at a minimum. Secrecy is of the utmost importance, and a severe silence will fall across the few sitting in the back of the wagons with the Travellers. They know the weight of this mission: if you fail, Freyr's soul will remain trapped forever. It is dangerous and no one's lives are guaranteed, so prepare yourselves for a fight quite unlike any other this far.

As you travel further from Asgard, you might notice the terrain getting a bit more uneven as the wagons move through undeveloped areas. There may be the odd village noticeable in the far off distance, but they are nowhere close enough to make out any distinguishable details because you don't want them distinguishing anything about you in return. These villages are few and far between, and grow even less in number the closer the caravan gets to Thrymheim. The terrain goes from rocky but arable to colder and harder, the temperature dropping increasingly as the earth grows solid and unforgiving, eventually peppering with light snowfall even in the midst of Yggdrasil's summer.

It will take two full days to reach Thrymheim travelling at as fast a pace as they can without wearing out the horses or catching unwanted attention. They will make short stops to feed and brush the horses, switch drivers, and allow for any necessary relief - but these breaks will last no longer than ten to twenty minutes at most. Simple meals will be served by the Natives thrice daily, and Travellers are welcome to attempt sleep on one of the meager pallets stocked up if they think they can manage it. Space is not abundant and neither is time. ]

[ OOC NOTES: This is part one of three for the Save Our Souls plot! Please put the day/location in the title of your comment along with [OPEN/CLOSED]. The second log can be found over here and the third and final log can be found here. Let us know if you have any questions! ]

Comments

[averagemedium]

It, um. It goes? I've at least read up on it some, so... yeah. I guess this could be a pretty intense test run of it, your shadows are probably doing better than my control is. Sword's probably pretty decent backup even if you're rusty.

[For his part, he's... totally unarmed, at least at first glance. Ryan looks incredibly sheepish as he produces a heavy-looking rolling pin from his bag.

It was the closest thing he could think to get, besides the knives, and he really doesn't like stabbing. Besides, one of those had worked well enough on the last thing to sneak up on him in his own house.]

Pretty sure I'm gonna get laughed at if I have to try using this thing. Maybe it'll buy some time, though, so long as it's the other guys busy snickering.

[necrowmantic]

[For his part, Henry doesn't laugh at the sight of the rolling pin, or even seem surprised that Ryan brought that, rather than some traditional weapon.]

Heh~ What's wrong with a good ol' crushing device? Blunt weapons are just as good as the pointy ones, you know! You can afford to be way less precise with 'em too- just smash away, and you're bound to break something!

[Then Henry does laugh, but it's not at the choice in weaponry. It's not really at anything; it seems like it's just something he does. A nervous habit without the nervousness.]

Besides, if you're not totally sure about what you're doing, it's probably easier to wave around an item you're used to. But I'm surprised to see you here! Gonna give the whole murdering thing another go? No ghosts here to haunt you for it, right?

[averagemedium]

Maybe not so much the murdering thing, but I figure control's gotta be helpful, right? I mean, if I'm supposed to be able to control limbs it's a good way of stopping them from hitting our folks. Hard to stab somebody if your arm won't work.

[Ryan shrugs one shoulder, settling in a bit more. The lack of laughter (at least any directed at him) is kind of reassuring-- at least somebody doesn't think he looks too ridiculous. He'll take it.]

This is really more a last resort kind of thing, if I can't control something. I'm not the type that smashes stuff very easily, but y'know, I figure that's kind of obvious. [He's a stick, basically. Tall, bony, possibly in the very stereotypical danger of being knocked over by strong winds.]

[necrowmantic]

You do seem kinda stick-like, nya ha! Not that I'm really any better; mages aren't exactly the heavy lifters of an army.

[He laughs again, adjusting the scarf to try to wrap it around even more of his head. He wondered if it was possible for ears to fall off if they got too cold, and almost regretted trying to cover them up. ]

And control would be super useful! All it takes is a leg locking up- even a foot!- for a few seconds to totally throw off a swing. And once you're practiced, I bet you could get guys to just smash each other while you sit back and relax!

[averagemedium]

...you know, I actually hadn't thought about that. [He frowns thoughtfully, idly winding a lock of corkscrewed curls around one gloved finger while he considers the possibility.] It's a little less like hurting them myself if I have something else do it-- I mean, similar intent, but way better results. And a little distance.

[That comes with a slight wrinkling of his nose. Being up close and personal with it isn't his idea of a good time.]

We'll see how it goes, I guess? I'll let you know if you miss anything interesting there.

[necrowmantic]

And can you imagine the mental torture? I mean, what if you get a couple guys who're best buds and you make them kill each other!

[This is obviously the best thing to point out to someone who's already shown reservations about control.]

But you'll have to share all the gruesome details while you're out there~ I'll do the same, okay?

[averagemedium]

[It's totally the best thing to point out-- surely that is a look of appreciation instead of utter dismay, right? And the white-knuckled grip on his trusty rolling pin has got to just be anticipation.

Okay, no, he's pretty obviously thrown off by the idea. That one really hadn't occurred to him.]

I, uh-- I think I'm going to save that one for later down the line or something, yeah? Bit complicated to start off with. [And a little horrifying. Oh god he is so glad Henry's a shadow user and not a controller.] Hell, after all this we might not even need to practice as much.

[[(ooc;) just a note that I'm sorry for the delay, I was offline for a few days there, and if you would prefer not to try and backtag while other event stuff is still happening that is fine!]]

[necrowmantic]

[If he notices the dismay, Henry makes no comment on it, and is agreeable enough to the idea of caution.]

Yeah, that's true. Shouldn't try it in a real fight unless you're completely sure you can keep control. If you lost it too soon, I bet they'd be reeeally mad, nya ha!

But hey, you're not getting out of practicing on me! I'm totally okay with it! You wouldn't even have to make me kill anyone. ...Unless you wanted to. You'd want to, right?


((OOC: It's fine! ♥ I can backtag as much as you want.))

[averagemedium]

I-- I don't think the gods would be too pleased if I made you kill anyone back in the city. I mean, it's not like you'd need a lot of help with that anyway, right?

[From some people that might have had a tinge of sarcasm, but it's just factual. But he has to add--]

You really probably shouldn't, though. Sure, we come back, but dying sort of sucks and like I said, pretty sure they'd be none too pleased with you. We'll try and find some way to do it that's not gonna bore you too much, okay?

[necrowmantic]

I guess they really wouldn't like people just keeling over in their city, huh?

[This is probably something that does need to be pointed out occasionally.]

And don't worry about me! Even if there's no gruesome maiming, I bet it'll still be fun.

[averagemedium]

[Ryan will be more than happy to point it out as necessary. He's used to it-- modding the forum pretty much meant constantly informing people What Not To Do.]

We're definitely leaving out the maiming. I think it's probably going to be way less complicated-- seeing just how targeted I can get it, probably, maybe working on finer control if I can manage it.

[necrowmantic]

Yup. I bet that'll take a lot of work in itself. Moving cups around without breaking them, pouring out water without spilling- by comparison, big motions like crushing someone's head in would be easy!

[He laughs again; death had a way of working itself into any comparison.]

[averagemedium]

Well, you won't have to worry about that one yourself-- but if I ever get any experience with head-crushing, you'll know, 'kay?

[He pauses there for a moment, humming thoughtfully.]

...but hey, we could always use stand-ins and stuff for practice, right? Put fake blood in things to break, that kind of thing. I know how to make some that's pretty real-looking.

[necrowmantic]

Awesome! And you can make fake blood? Man, I bet you can decorate everything with that! Can't really use the real stuff for that, people complain about the smell. And the extra animals it attracts.

[He looks almost intrigued at the idea.]

How do you get in the field of fake-blood making?

[averagemedium]

It's just a thing I picked up, y'know? [He does look pretty darned pleased with himself, though.] Made it for Ha-- uh, a holiday of ours a few times. You dress up, maybe as something creepy, and you go get candy.

...Okay, so it sounds odd if you put it that way but that's... basically it. Have costume, get sugar.

[He shrugs slightly; maybe that's oversimplifying it, but hey, he's got the core of it explained.]

I can show you how to make it too, if you want. Figure you'd get some use out of that.

[necrowmantic]

You can show me?! That'd be great! I can't wait to get to smearing it on... well, whatever'll hold still, nya ha!

[How much of a room could be covered in fake blood? Only one way to find out.]

And your holiday doesn't sound weird at all! You get the fun of looking all gruesome without the anemia. And people give you treats for it? Your world must be awesome!

[averagemedium]

Parts of it really aren't bad, but I don't know. This one's been pretty interesting so far, and it's pretty lacking in, uh. A lot of the drawbacks my world has. It'd be nice to have my sight here but I'll take what I can get, yeah?

[Being magically kidnapped wasn't all bad, he supposed, especially when it meant people actually believed him about the weird supernatural stuff.]

I'll show you how to make blood when we get back, just try to not get it everywhere, 'kay? I don't think that's what they meant by giving the place color.

[necrowmantic]

Sure, sure. I mean, there's probably not enough material around to coat an entire room, right?

And yeah, this place is pretty great too! I mean, it'd be nice if I had my old hexes, and I'm a bit more confident with a tome than a sword, but you can't have everything. And no matter where you go, someone always needs someone else killed.

[Which was the important aspect of any world. Henry was not the sort to dwell.]

What was wrong with your world? It's full of ghosts and you can scare people into giving you sweets!

[averagemedium]

...thing is, not everybody there can see the ghosts, or tell that they're there. It's actually kind of a rare thing, and while we've got stuff like wizards, vampires, werewolves-- they keep that covered up too, you know? So a lot of people, probably the majority of people, they have no idea.

Which means that if you get caught talking to what looks like thin air? The majority of people are going to think you're totally nuts. And that kind of happens a lot.

[He shifts to adjust his coat so he can bundle up a bit more, curling back up onto himself.]

Most of 'em don't really believe in the weird stuff, and the weird stuff's generally okay with that.

[necrowmantic]

So most people just go around, missing out on all the ghosts? And the wizards don't mind being covered up? So everyone misses out on the magic and the shapeshifters? That's way more boring than I thought it'd be. I'd hate being that regular person totally oblivious to all the dangerous things going on juuuust out of sight.

[He wondered how'd you'd keep a wizard hidden anyway. Wouldn't all the mysterious fires and neighbors turning into frogs sort of give it away?]

But even if you look like a lunatic doing it, at least you know what's going on! Could you sic your ghost buddies on the non-believers?

[averagemedium]

Might've done that a few times, yeah.

[Okay, he can't help but grin a bit at the thought. He likes to think he's not a vindictive person at all, really-- but man, sometimes people just have it coming.]

Usually only if they've irritated both me and the ghosts, but when they do, well. A couple of 'em really enjoy going all horror movie on houses. Making stuff creak at night, turning things off and on, slamming doors, that whole business-- they do it to me, too, but I'm used to it. Kind of a pain when they turn the tv off in the middle of a show, but I can live with it, y'know? They need company, what with how few people see them.

[necrowmantic]

Hey, what's good being a ghost if you can't have fun scaring people with it, right? Especially if they can't see it coming, nya ha!

...Buuut, they should know better than to bug the one person who can hear 'em out! Just because they're dead, doesn't mean they can't wait their turn. Still, I'd love hanging out with ghosts. Hanging out with dead things in general is great, but hearing them talk back? That'd be awesome. Whenever you wanted to watch your- tea-thing [Yeah he has no idea what a TV is. Or movies. Electricity and indoor plumbing still kind of freaked him out.] I could keep them company! We could talk about death and whatever else spirits like chatting about.

[averagemedium]

If I could introduce you to them I would. [He's so enthusiastic about it that Ryan kind of wants to just ruffle his hair or something, really. So maybe it's also slightly creepy, but that he can deal with.]

They're actually not bad company, I mean, they mostly just like talking about... whatever they did in life, you know? Death does seem to kind of make just about everybody's sense of humor a little more morbid, though. And some of them still sort of look like they just died, I think you'd find 'em pretty interesting.

[necrowmantic]

Huh, I guess it would. Just being around death changes folk, actually being dead must net you the best sense of humor.

[He's persistently, almost carelessly optimistic.]

And I mean, living people are rarely in the mood to talk when they're covered in gruesome injuries. They're usually too busy crying to make it stop~ Being dead has all kinds of benefits! And if you can see 'em, and they don't have anyone else to go to, you must never get lonely either. Pretty sweet job, right?

[averagemedium]

...Yeah, that part of it really isn't half bad. I kind of miss them here, but I guess living people really aren't a bad substitute, yeah?

[His grin's a bit more muted this time, and it quickly fades as he shifts to stretch out. Having limbs fall asleep on him would sort of suck, on top of the cold.]

What's your home like, though? You've mentioned magic and all, but I'm curious.